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QC1501: COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

Beginning with digital logic gates and progressing to the design of combinational and sequential circuits, this course use these fundamental building blocks as the basis for what follows: the design of an ARM microprocessor. In addition, students will get hands on experience with programming using ARM assembly language which is the inner language spoken by the processor. By the end of the course, students will have a top-to-down understanding of how a microprocessor works. The course is taught without prerequisites; students are taught with plenty of exercises from lectures, tutorials, practical and tests every week.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 1
Term Second Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr John Vargheese

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

  • Basics: Number Systems, (Decimal Binary Hexadecimal), Binary Addition, Logic Gates, Transistors, Power Consumption, Boolean Algebra, Multiplexer/Decoders/Timing, Latches and Flip-Flops, Finite State Machines.
  • Building Blocks: Arithmetic Circuits, Number Systems (Fixed-Point, Floating-Point), Memory Arrays, Logic Arrays.
  • Assembly Language, Machine Language, Addressing Modes, Program execution, Heaps and stacks.
  • Microarchitecture: Single-Cycle Processor, Multicycle Processor, Pipelined Processor.
  • Memory Systems: Caches, Virtual Memory.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Exam

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
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Class Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
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Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
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Practical Exam

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
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Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
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Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome

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